As pontes extradorso surgiram na última década do Século XX, principalmente pelo extraordinário desenvolvimento tecnológico do concreto protendido, que possibilitou uma solução simples e econômica para a construção de pontes. A Odawara Blueway Bridge, construída em 1995 no Japão, foi a primeira ponte extradorso do mundo. Depois dessa obra, dezenas de outras pontes foram construídas com esse sistema estrutural, principalmente na Ásia, comprovando sua viabilidade técnica e econômica. Todavia, não se tem conhecimento de algum estudo que mostre em que faixa de extensão de vãos as superestruturas de pontes extradorso são economicamente vantajosas em relação a outros sistemas estruturais. Neste trabalho foi realizada uma investigação visando um estudo comparativo entre as superestruturas de pontes em viga reta de concreto protendido e as pontes extradorso, ambas construídas pelo método dos balanços progressivos. Na investigação realizada verificou-se que as pontes extradorso são economicamente competitivas com a ponte em viga reta de concreto protendido, principalmente na faixa de vãos entre 100 e 200 metros. / The extradosed bridges had appeared in the last decade of XX Century, mainly because the extraordinary technological development of the prestressed concrete made possible a simple and economic solution for the construction of bridges. The Odawara Blueway Bridge, built in 1995 in Japan, was the world\'s first extradosed bridge. After that, dozens of other bridges were built with the same structural type, most in Asia, proving it\'s economic and technique advantages. However, there is no knowledge of any study that show on witch span lengths the extradosed bridges are economically advantageous in comparison with others structural types. This work intended to do this study, comparing the superstructures of conventional prestressed concrete bridges and extradosed bridges, both built with de balanced cantilever method. On this investigation confirms that extradosed bridges are economically competitive with prestressed concrete bridges, mainly with span lengths between 100 and 200 meters.

Concrete highway bridges are important elements of our country's transportation infrastructure; however, only few studies that address their seismic behavior using data collected from instrumented structures are available in the literature. This gap of knowledge impairs full exploitation of structural health monitoring techniques for seismic damage assessment, and improvement of design recommendations. This research is particularly concerned with curved concrete box-girder highway bridges, whose seismic behavior is still widely unexplored due to lack of field monitoring data. By taking advantage of vibration records collected during six earthquake events at the West Street on Ramp, a curved concrete box-girder highway bridge located in Anaheim, California, this research aims at advancing knowledge about the seismic behavior of these bridges. Modal identification of the bridge during the earthquakes is conducted, and sensitivity analysis is carried out to reconcile the observed dynamic characteristics of the bridge with the behavior of its structural elements. Data collected from an instrumented large-scale bridge specimen during shaking table tests are also analyzed to gain insight about the response of the bridge bents during the earthquakes, and propose a strategy to model their seismic behavior. Information from modal identification and the shaking table tests analyses are instrumental in developing a nonlinear finite element model of the bridge, calibrated employing a multistage finite element model updating strategy. In order to evaluate the significance of using the structural-health-monitoring-informed structural model obtained, seismic performance assessment through incremental dynamic analysis is conducted, and results are compared with the predicted performance estimated with a conventional finite element model of the bridge. By advancing knowledge about the seismic behavior of concrete highway bridges, this research may ultimately contribute to improve structural health monitoring practices and design guidelines for this type of structures.

Damage to reinforced concrete bridges due to carbonation and chloride induced corrosion is widespread in South Africa and prone in environments where carbon dioxide is at high levels as well as in marine environments where chlorides are present. Performance specifications are therefore essential in order that structural concrete can be designed and constructed to the required standards ensuring that the long term durability can be maintained. This dissertation includes a review of SANRAL‘s current durability specifications. The specifications are critiqued in terms of the testing methodology followed as well as strength and environmental exposure considerations, and recommendations are made for improving the specifications. The literature review, outlines the background to both carbonation and chloride induced corrosion to reinforced concrete bridges , considering the fundamental causes of deterioration of concrete caused by carbonation and chloride ingress and repair costs during their service life. The South African Durability Index tests are presented and reviewed, in particular the laboratory testing apparatus and procedures. In addition, the index tests are compared with durability test methods currently being used internationally. The background and previous durability specifications used in South Africa on road bridges as well as details of research into specifications to ensure durable concrete with specific emphasis on curing of concrete is summarised. The indications are that performance based specifications for concrete on bridge structures internationally follow similar criteria to the specifications currently being adopted by SANRAL. Both performance and prescriptive specifications used usually depend on the risk that a constructor needs to carry. Importantly both cement extenders to ensure long term durability and penalties are applied in performance based durability. SANRAL‘s current durability specifications are reviewed and both the negatives and positives are presented for the various sections. Amendments to the Committee of Land Transport Officials (COLTO) standard specifications are recommended address shortcomings. The latest project specifications used on SANRAL contracts incorporating target requirements for cover and oxygen permeability are evaluated. These impose penalties if targets are not achieved, while limits are placed on chloride conductivity values for various blended binders. Data is also included for the sorptivity index values on the five projects which may analysed and target values can be set and implemented in future. Descriptions of the five projects with regard to durability specifications, their environmental exposure condition and concrete mix designs are presented. Five projects in KwaZulu-Natal, are used as case studies for durability tests and specifications. The only distinct difference in the specifications is that the three projects commencing in 2006 and early in 2007 had the target values for water sorptivity whereas for the project, sorptivity values are only reported on. Durability index testing results at each of the sites from the trial panels, additional test cubes (cast for coring and testing of durability indexes) as well as coring and testing from the bridge structures are presented. A major change is coring and testing of samples from trial panels and additional test cubes on the site instead of coring of the structure. The information is drawn together and relationships are determined between the various durability indexes as well as to strength. It is evident that the quality of concrete as constructed in the structure which is reflected by the durability index results is different to that produced in the test cubes and trial panels. It is deduced that while more care is being taken to produce quality concrete on the sites, certain aspects of the specifications need revision in order to remove confusion as well as to ensure that the concrete in the structure meets the target requirements. Finally it is noted that climate change is having an impact on design of bridge infrastructure, and while the surveys undertaken at Ethekwini and Msunduzi Municipalities shows that carbon dioxide levels being recorded are still average levels, worldwide there has been an increase in CO2 levels and further modifications to specifications in future may be required. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

O aumento nos limites de pesos estabelecidos pela legislação brasileira e o surgimento de novas combinações de veículos de carga nos últimos anos tornam necessária a verificação da segurança estrutural das pontes quando submetidas ao tráfego real. Este trabalho verifica o desempenho das obras de arte sob jurisdição do DER-SP através do índice de confiabilidade 'beta' e obtém limites para o peso de caminhões de modo a não comprometer sua integridade estrutural. São consideradas as superestruturas das pontes em concreto armado ou protendido, classes 36 e 45. Verifica-se o estado limite último nas seções transversais mais solicitadas por momento fletor positivo e negativo. No caso de pontes em concreto protendido, acrescenta-se o estado limite de formação de fissuras. Para a representação do tráfego real, é desenvolvido um modelo de carregamento móvel com base em pesagens de caminhões efetuadas em rodovias do estado de São Paulo. Admite-se a presença simultânea de veículos sobre a ponte e diferentes relações entre seus pesos. Os parâmetros estatísticos da resistência são determinados através da técnica de Monte Carlo. Apresenta-se os limites de peso em forma de equações, denominadas ECPLs (equações comprimento-peso limite), aplicáveis a quaisquer grupo de eixos consecutivos. Os resultados indicam restrições à circulação de algumas composições, especialmente ao rodotrem de 740 kN e 19,80 metros de comprimento. Considerando-se apenas o estado limite de serviço, as obras de arte classe 45 apresentam menores limites de peso devido à ponderação de ações durante o projeto / The increase in gross weight limits allowed by Brazilian legislation and the appearance of new truck configurations in last years require the assessment of bridges structural safety when submitted to real traffic. This thesis verifies the performance of the bridges under DER-SP jurisdiction using the reliability index 'beta' and obtains truck weight limits in order to guarantee its structural integrity. The superstructure of reinforced and prestressed concrete bridges, classes 36 and 45, is considered. The ultimate limit state is verified in cross sections submitted to critical positive and negative bending moments. In case of prestressed bridges, the tension limit state in concrete is added. To represent the real traffic, a live load model is developed based on weighting data collected from stations located at highways of the state of Sao Paulo. Multiple presence of vehicles over the bridge and different relations between weights are admitted. The statistical parameters of resistance are determined using the Monte Carlo technique. The gross weight limits are presented in the form of equations, known as bridge formulas, to be applied on any group of two or more consecutive axles. The results indicate restrictions to the traffic of some vehicles, especially the 740 kN and 19,80 meters length roadtrain. Considering only the serviceability limit state, bridges class 45 exhibit lower weight limits due to the load factors recommended by the code during design

This thesis presents an approach to evaluate and develop a live load model. Although the main purpose of this work is with the impact of truck traffic on bridges, the data presented in this work can be used in many engineering fields that are concerned with truck characteristics of geometry and weight. Data from two different WIM stations were considered. One in Fernão Dias highway in the State of São Paulo which is comprised of a same-direction two adjacent lanes and the sample is comprised of 20 months (September 2015 to August 2017). The second station is in Rio Grande do Sul State. This road is a same-direction three adjacent lanes. The sample is comprised of 78 days (March 2014 to June 2014) In order to evaluate and develop a new live load model, an approach to compute load effects in terms of bending moments and shear forces is proposed. It makes use of single and multiple truck presence to evaluate the live load effects for different bridge spans. Three cases of multiple presence are considered: following, side-by-side and staggered. The proposed approach to evaluate the multiple truck presence effects is compared with the approach used by AASHTO LRFD. The approach for estimating the bias factors shows that considering only full correlated trucks is too conservative, mostly for short spans where there is a lack of occurrences, especially following events. On the other hand, taking into account no correlation at all yields very low bias factors. At last, a more rational live load model was developed based on WIM data. Another purpose of this thesis is to use existing Brazilian bridges to calibrate the live load model as in NBR7188:2013. Reliability analysis is performed with sixty existing Brazilian bridges. The bridges are taken from different states of Brazil. Out of the sixty bridges, 39 are prestressed and 21 reinforced concrete bridges. Those bridges are located in five different states: Pernambuco, Ceará, Bahia, São Paulo, Minas Gerais. Probability of failure was estimated in terms of moment and shear for interior girders and box girders. Only ultimate state limit was considered. It was found that reliability indices are higher in prestressed bridges when compared to reinforced bridges. Also, the reliability indices tend to decrease as the span length increases. This means that for larger spans the probability of failure is higher than the ones for shorter spans. / Este trabalho apresenta uma abordagem para avaliação e desenvolvimento de modelo de carga móvel. Embora o principal objetivo desta tese seja averiguar o impacto de caminhões nas pontes, os dados apresentados aqui podem ser usados em qualquer aplicação de engenharia que dependa das características do tráfego de caminhão. Dados de duas estações WIM foram utilizados. Uma estação fica na Autoestrada Fernão Dias no Estado de São Paulo e possui 20 meses (Setembro de 2015 a Agosto de 2017) de dados coletados. A outra estação fica no estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Esta amostra tem 78 dias e foi coletada de Marco de 2014 a Junho de 2014. Com o objetivo de avaliar e desenvolver um novo modelo de carga móvel, uma abordagem para estimar o efeito de carga em termos de momento fletor e esforço cortante é proposta. Este método faz uso de estatísticas de caminhões em múltiplas presenças e isolados. Três casos de múltiplas presenças são considerados: \"Following\", \"Side-by-side\" e \"Staggered\". A abordagem proposta é comparada com o método usado pela AASHTO LRFD. A abordagem para estimar os \"bias factors\" mostra que considerar apenas caminhões totalmente correlacionados é muito conservador, principalmente para períodos curtos onde há uma falta de ocorrências, especialmente para eventos \"Following\". Por outro lado, não considerar a correlação de peso dos caminhões resulta em valores muito baixos de \"bias factors\". Por fim, um modelo de carga móvel mais racional foi desenvolvido com base nos dados WIM. Outro objetivo desta tese foi usar pontes brasileiras existentes para calibrar o modelo de carga móvel descrito na NBR7188:2013. Análises de confiabilidade foram realizadas em uma amostra de sessenta pontes brasileiras, sendo que destas 39 são protendidas e 21 armadas. Elas estão localizadas em cinco diferentes estados: Pernambuco, Ceará, Bahia, São Paulo e Minas Gerais. As probabilidades de falha foram estimadas em termos de momento fletor e cisalhamento para vigas internas e vigas caixão. Apenas o estado limite último foi considerado. Verificou-se que os índices de confiabilidade são maiores nas pontes protendidas quando comparadas às pontes armadas. Além disso, os índices de confiabilidade tendem a diminuir à medida que o comprimento do vão aumenta.

As estruturas de concreto, especialmente as pontes de concreto, estão sujeitas a um conjunto de ações que leva ao seu envelhecimento devido aos processos de deterioração, muitas vezes deixando de responder às exigências para as quais foram projetadas. Tal situação, em muitos casos, é agravada pela falta de conhecimento dos processos e mecanismos de degradação assim como o uso de técnicas tradicionais para inspeção de estruturas, estas muitas vezes se mostram limitadas quando são aplicadas isoladamente. Este trabalho mostra uma comparação entre a inspeção visual (usada há décadas) e a aplicação de métodos de ensaios não destrutivos e semi-destrutivos na avaliação da condição estrutural atual de pontes. Enquanto a inspeção visual mostra uma condição qualitativa, os métodos de ensaios não destrutivos são quantitativos e apresentam o potencial de determinar os danos no interior da estrutura que não são visíveis a olho nu. Portanto, visando alertar para o problema da degradação das pontes, busca-se integrar a inspeção visual com a avaliação através do uso de métodos de ensaio. Assim, neste trabalho é feito um estudo de caso da ponte sobre o rio Jaguari. Este estudo visa determinar a condição atual da estrutura através de ensaios não destrutivos e semi-destrutivos, estabelecendo uma correlação entre os resultados destes ensaios e a avaliação da inspeção visual. Dessa forma, procura-se apresentar uma alternativa na avaliação de pontes de concreto. / Concrete structures, particularly concrete bridges, are subjected to a set of actions that leads to aging due to the processes of deterioration, and many times these structures do not respond to the demands for which they have been designed. This situation, in many cases, is exacerbated by lack of knowledge of processes and mechanisms of degradation and by the use of traditional techniques for inspection of structures, these techniques are limited when applied alone. This work shows a comparison between the visual inspection (used for decades) and the application of nondestructive testing methods and semi-destructive on the evaluation of current structural condition of bridges. While visual inspection shows a qualitative condition, the methods of nondestructive testing are quantitative and have the potential to determine the damage inside the structure that are not visible with a simple view. Therefore, in order to draw attention to the problem of deterioration of bridges, we seek to integrate the visual inspection with the assessment through the use of test methods. Thus, in this work a case study of the bridge about the river Jaguari is done. This study aims at determining the current condition of the structure through nondestructive and semi-destructive methods, establishing a correlation between the results of these tests and the evaluation of visual inspection. We seek to present an alternative in the assessment of concrete bridges.

Bridge design should take into account not only safety and functionality, but also the cost effectiveness of investments throughout a bridge life-cycle. This work presents a probabilistic approach to compute the life-cycle cost (LCC) of corroding reinforced concrete (RC) bridges in earthquake prone regions. The approach is developed by combining cumulative seismic damage and damage associated to corrosion due to environmental conditions. Cumulative seismic damage is obtained from a low-cycle fatigue analysis. Chloride-induced corrosion of steel reinforcement is computed based on Fick’s second law of diffusion. The proposed methodology accounts for the uncertainties in the ground motion parameters, the distance from source, the seismic demand on the bridge, and the corrosion initiation time. The statistics of the accumulated damage and the cost of repairs throughout the bridge life-cycle are obtained by Monte-Carlo simulation. As an illustration of the proposed approach, the effect of design parameters on the life-cycle cost of an example RC bridge is studied. The results are shown to be valuable in better estimating the condition of existing bridges (i.e., total accumulated damage at any given time) and, therefore, can help schedule inspection and maintenance programs. In addition, by taking into consideration the deterioration process over a bridge life-cycle, it is possible to make an estimate of the optimum design parameters by minimizing, for example, the expected cost throughout the life of the structure.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 429-435). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering." Includes bibliographical references (p. 151-153).

In recent years, it has been discovered that some structural elements of the I-10 and I-35 corridor passing through San Antonio, Texas (San Antonio Y) are suffering from premature concrete deterioration related to alkali-silica reaction (ASR) and/or delayed ettringite formation (DEF). While there is considerable evidence of materials related distress, the degree of damage to structural capacity has not been quantified. In a comprehensive search of literature, very little research has been identified that quantifies the amount of structural damage caused by ASR and/or DEF on the load carrying capacity of structural piers. Due to the fact that this integral stretch of interstate highway sees a large volume of traffic, it is desirable to determine a method of assessing the degree of structural damage, and the necessity of taking remedial actions. The purpose of this thesis is to develop an assessment methodology which can be used by The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to evaluate the current and future integrity of structural elements in the San Antonio Y. The key steps included in the methodology are conducting a literature review on the effects of ASR and/or DEF on the structural properties of reinforced concrete, evaluating in-situ engineering properties of existing concrete, investigating the basis for the original design, and performing an experimental investigation to determine the effect of cracking on the load carrying capacity of typical SAY piers. This thesis presents the findings from this research. / text